Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Ponte Basics

Image
By
Happy New Year, Fabricistas!

For this new year post, I decided to focus on some solid basics for me and my husband in easy to wear, easy to sew ponte knits. For him, a shawl-collar Thread Theory Finlayson Sweater:


For me, a shawl-collar Hot Patterns Metropolitan Chimera cardigan/jacket:


When I was choosing fabric, Fabric Mart had some fabulous ponte in stock. For my husband, I opted for a fossil grey rayon/nylon/lyrca ponte, and a solid midnight black viscose/nylon/lycra ponte for myself. Both colors are out of stock, but they have some other fun shades in this fabulous substrate!


I found Tim was between sizes on the Thread Theory size chart, so for his Finlayson sweater, I cut the smaller size (a Large), but used a small seam allowance than called for. It worked out well! I love this pattern. Such nice details, like a decorative back neck facing.


Tim looks great in the Finlayson! He's worn it a bunch since I made it. It's perfect for layering over a t-shirt or buttondown shirt and, in this ponte, is classy enough to wear to his business casual office. I think the Finlayson could even go dressier if you left off the cuffs and hem band and just hemmed instead (you'd have to lengthen it a bit, of course).


Now onto my Metropolitan Chimera jacket! I was going for a classic black, slouchy, boyfriend-style blazer with this project. This shawl-collar pattern has panel seams, two-piece sleeves and Dior darts, which intrigued me!


I quite like the blazer. The fit is pretty great (the only adjustment I made was a full bicep adjustment, which is pretty common for me) and the fabric is super soft and comfortable to wear. I think the Dior darts (which are little bit difficult to see in the photos in this black fabric) really add a little something special to the simple design.


I'm having a little bit of trouble with the bodice of the blazer pulling away from the shawl collar, but I had a similar issue with another shawl collar blazer I made, so perhaps it's just an issue with the style.


I'm loving this great basic jacket, though. I think it will work well with many other pieces in my handmade wardrobe. Here I've paired it with a double gauze Beatrix blouse and my Ames jeans.


Thanks for reading and thanks to Fabric Mart for the lovely fabric! See you back here in a few months. Check out my blog, Cookin' and Craftin', in the meantime!

Comments

  1. MadebyLaQuanaJanuary 3, 2018 at 8:58 AM

    I love both pieces! The Finlayson is a must have for my husband. I've seen Hot Patterns before, but I haven't seen them made up much, thanks for highlighting that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MegJanuary 5, 2018 at 7:43 AM

      Thanks, Laquana! He really likes the Finlayson, so I'm happy. I made it in late November and he's worn it at least once a week to work since then! I'll definitely make him another.

      Hot Patterns have some cool designs (did you see what I did there?!)!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Liberty Snow Day

By
Hi everyone! While we’ve been blanketed with snow out here in Southeastern PA, I decided to conquer my fear of button holes and make NewLook pattern N6749. I was able to snag a few yards of the Jess + Jean print Liberty of London Tana Lawn for it. It’s always exciting when Fabric Mart is able to get Liberty fabrics in! I always make sure to grab some.  Cutting into a beautiful piece of tana lawn is scary every time. The fabric is such good quality, I’m afraid to mess it up! I had to be extra careful as this is also the first directional pattern I’ve worked with. But one of my assistants made sure all of my pieces were laid correctly. Something I wanted to try out with this dress was finishing the inside seams using the overlock stitch on my domestic machine. Normally I would french seam, but it was nice to not have to worry about cutting seam allowance in half, sewing, trimming, flipping, and sewing again. Next time I would cut the seam allowance back before overlocking, but I thin...
8 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

By
As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that!  I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this!  I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...
4 comments
Continue Reading »

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

By
It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure.  We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder.  With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make.  Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...
2 comments
Continue Reading »